A Celebration of Fright Flicks Old and New, Mainstream and Obscure (with the occasional civilian film tossed in as well)

Saturday, June 8, 2019

FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN (1967) Blu-ray Review

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) d. Terence Fisher (UK) (92 min)

Neatly rebounding from 1964’s quasi-Universal clunker, The Evil of Frankenstein, the fourth chapter in Hammer’s Frankenstein saga has the confidence to relegate Peter Cushing to a supporting role in this rich ensemble drama filled with engaging thesping. Producer Anthony Hinds’ (writing under his ordained nom de plume “John Elder”) script tackles the notion of “soul transfers,” an intriguing and original concept in a series that had heretofore concerned itself only with the physical elements of humanity and/or reanimation of dead flesh.

When Frankenstein’s young assistant Hans (Robert Morris) is wrongfully accused of a murder perpetrated by three young society swells (Peter Blyth, Barry Warren, Derek Fowlds) and subsequently executed, his lover Christina (Susan Denberg), a kind but crippled village girl, commits suicide. The good doctor (though still imperious and intolerant of fools, Cushing’s characterization here is the most benevolent we have or will ever see of him) seizes this opportunity to attempt a transfer of the guillotined young man’s soul into his drowned paramour’s body, with success.

However, in addition to being given a grand makeover into a stunning blonde, Frankenstein’s creation now burns for vengeance upon the trio responsible for his/her deaths. Despite her voice being dubbed by Nikki Van der Zyl, who also dubbed Ursula Andress for 1962’s James Bond outing Dr. No (and numerous other female characters throughout the 007 series), former Playboy playmate Denberg turns in a subtle, nuanced performance, marking the journey from timid victim to befuddled patient to seductive murderess.

Also lending strong support is grand character actor Thorley Walters as the Baron’s fumbling, awestruck apprentice Dr. Hertz, so taken with Frankenstein’s powerful intellect and groundbreaking notions that he often takes on the aspect of a world traveler, simultaneously exalted and exhausted by every new discovery.

As per usual, Cushing anchors the proceedings with a lived-in assuredness while displaying fascinating new aspects of this complicated character, all under the guiding hand of director Fisher, returning to the series after nearly a decade’s absence. Cinematographer Arthur Grant (The Plague of the Zombies) breaks out all sort of camera tricks and colored filters to support the most “sci-fi” of the Frankenstein outings, aided by Bernard Robinson’s handsome production design, James Bernard’s thundering musical score, and makeup man Roy Ashton’s skills, turning the delectable Denberg into an ugly duckling for her introductory scenes.

Trivia: Scottish character actor Alan McNaughtan, playing Christina’s father Kleve, performed his role in a German accent to match Denberg’s; when the decision was made to redub her performance sans dialect, McNaughton had to go back and redub his own vocal track as well!

More Trivia: The title is a playful riff on Roger Vadim’s …And God Created Woman, starring Brigitte Bardot, released the previous year.

NOTE: The sound mix on the two World of Hammer episodes is exceedingly poor, so much so that Oliver Reed’s narration can barely be made out much of the time. I have not noticed this in previous WoH installments, so I’m not sure if this is a fluke in the series itself or in this particular presentation.

Frankenstein Created Woman is available now on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and can be ordered HERE:

About Me

Well, during the day I move among you as mild-mannered Aaron Christensen, Chicago actor. But at night, when the popcorn pops full, I transform into my alternate personality Dr. AC, hopeless horror movie nerd-cum-Ambassador of Horror.
However, despite my inclination to discuss monsters that pervade, aliens that invade, creatures of the night, vampires that bite...I'm actually the nicest guy you'll ever meet.